How it rained and hailed this morning but we still had lots of fun having breakfast with friends at a favourite venue with the most beautiful view, even without sunshine.
Afterwards we briefly shopped in Truro visiting one of my favourite shops……
I loved the logo on this bag – and this afternoon we made the next two batches of home-made marmalade, another 10lbs or so. 
Positivity rules, okay?
For New Year’s Day 2019
New Year resolutions
Happy New Year calendar
I collected my piece of fused glass from The Craft Collective today, the piece that I made a couple of weeks ago in Lisa MacFarlane’s class. You may be able to see what I was aiming for………
My fused glass
Our lovely daughter No 3 brought some beautiful Suffragette coloured Freesias when she visited on Wednesday. They have now opened and smell so sweetly.
Freesias
I am trying to do all these things in Altruistic August, just not on the designated day. Actually, it’s how I try to live my life. When we walked along Cliff Road on Thursday, a sombre looking man was sitting alone on one of the benches resting, his crutches by his side. I simply smiled and said, “This was one of my favourite walks when I was on crutches, flat and safe,” and he beamed back, clearly pleased to have been spoken to with empathy. When we looked back, he was on his way again.
Altruistic August
What a fabulous sing this morning at the Eco Park in Porthtowan with the ever inspiring Claire and then the most delicious Brunch at La Cantina. There are decorated things all over the park and this cable drum pleased me.
Found in the Eco Park
The Birthday party that was postponed because of the snow is to be held tonight and the Vegan Brownies that I made are now assembled into a Brownie Mountain Birthday Cake.
Sue’s Birthday Cake
I have shared several poems by Naomi Shibab Nye whose writing I much admire and invariably enjoy. I hope you love this one too and its uplifting message.
Happiness – Naomi Shihab Nye
It is difficult to know what to do with so much happiness.
With sadness there is something to rub against,
a wound to tend with lotion and cloth.
When the world falls in around you, you have pieces to pick up,
something to hold in your hands, like ticket stubs or change.But happiness floats.
It doesn’t need you to hold it down.
It doesn’t need anything.
Happiness lands on the roof of the next house, singing,
and disappears when it wants to.
You are happy either way.
Even the fact that you once lived in a peaceful tree house
and now live over a quarry of noise and dust
cannot make you unhappy.
Everything has a life of its own,
it too could wake up filled with possibilities
of coffee cake and ripe peaches,
and love even the floor which needs to be swept,
the soiled linens and scratched records . . .Since there is no place large enough
to contain so much happiness,
you shrug, you raise your hands, and it flows out of you
into everything you touch. You are not responsible.
You take no credit, as the night sky takes no credit
for the moon, but continues to hold it, and share it,
and in that way, be known.
There are no photos to go with the two best things of today – a delightful text from LiveWire No 1 asking when we can go back to Spain as she is missing us and later, an email from LiveWire No 2 saying how much he enjoyed our visit and hoping we had enjoyed his company too! These two are both eight years old and have made my day!
Listen to our world as she breathes. There is hope.
Join us to share some of the fun and vitality of the Parade this afternoon, Saturday 30th April, despite the date on the photos! It was brilliant to be able to be here this year and to get caught up in the excitement and jollity 
As well as the parade, there are streets full of beautiful art work for sale, scrumptious food and drink all accompanied by live music.
Both of these I would have loved to have bought but taking home would sadly be impossible. Tonight is Theatre Night…….
This is where we arrived last night and even in the dark, it felt like Paradise! Let me show you some of the beauty on a short stroll around the gardens. I’m sorry that you can’t hear all the bird song nor feel the warmth though it is cloudy today as the remnants of Hurricane Ana hang around. There was a terrific thunderstorm last night after we arrived though our 39 minute flight from Big Island was not the scary one I had anticipated!
This is our room from the front with our lanai ( Hawaiian verandah)
and from the back lanai
Now for some of the glorious flowers
It really is a little piece of paradise! Off out to explore now………
1 On my walk down into Redruth today, this beautiful blossom took my breath away.
Blossom 25:2:2012
2 Mr S has cleared the patch for the new terrace and spread compost on the raised beds, ready for vegetable planting quite soon.
3 Lovely friends brought us some more snowdrops from their place in Wales.
4 + a little extra! Just had over an hour with Daniel on Skype talking about the wedding and all the things we need to know about before we go to Senegal. I have to send my measurements to Ami so that she can get my wedding outfit made up for me before we arrive! It was Ndeye Marie’s 4th birthday last week and Daniel sent some photos while we were chatting.
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